Climber Alain Robert, known as “The French Spiderman”, scaled Slovak Radio’s inverted pyramid building. (source: Jana Liptáková)
FRENCH climber Alain Robert, also known as the “French Spiderman,” needed less than 20 minutes to climb the Slovak Radio building, shaped like an upside-down pyramid, in Bratislava on April 12.
Robert, who is known to prefer city buildings to mountains, said after his performance that he felt very dehydrated after the first several metres. If the broadcaster’s reporters hadn’t passed him a bottle of water, he said he probably wouldn’t have continued the climb.
After the performance, police checked Robert’s permission to climb the upside-down pyramid and did not give him any trouble.
“This building was not exceptionally surprising from my viewpoint, but I still think that it was difficult,” said Robert, who climbed belayed.
The Frenchman originally planned to test himself on the much taller Slovak National Bank building, standing right next to the radio building. However, the bank’s management didn’t give him a permit.
Robert was in Slovakia as a guest of the Mountains and a City festival.
